I'd skip the 5.2 "stabilizer" and ... make one batch with all RO water with a teaspoon of calcium chloride, ....

This is the best advice. It's cheap, the 5.2 may or may not be doing anything anyway. I realize a protein rest is practically free, but I think this is your best bet. It'll improve your beer even if it doesn't fully fix the chill haze issue (which I bet it will).

Also, if you're on a public water system (not a well), you should be able to get most or all of the data from your municipality.

This is the best advice. It's cheap, the 5.2 may or may not be doing anything anyway. I realize a protein rest is practically free, but I think this is your best bet. It'll improve your beer even if it doesn't fully fix the chill haze issue (which I bet it will).

Also, if you're on a public water system (not a well), you should be able to get most or all of the data from your municipality.

Okay, I'll skip the 5.2 stabilizer. Just what do you mean by R.O. water anyway? I use municipal water, but they have little to NO information on the ion counts. All they could give me was the ph(which is 7.4) and the sodium count...92ppm. That's it. Welcome to small town Iowa.

I'll check the LHBS for ph strips and such. When you check the mash ph, do you need to wait a while before you check it?

I know you said you didn't want to add anything else, but gelatin does wonders. If you cant bring yourself to use gelatin, let the beer cold condition, after you have bottled and carbonated it, for 2-3 weeks. It will clear up.

R.O. water is reverse osmosis water. Distilled water is essentially the same. If you buy it from the grocery store, make sure it says "distilled" and not "drinking" or "spring" or anything else, needs to say "distilled".

I'll add, I'm told the pH strips are essentially useless since they're difficult to read and not consistent. I would save your money on strips, follow the water primer with distilled water, acid malt, calcium chloride, etc. and see where that gets you. For my purposes (like you, still a hobby), the water primer gets me close enough and I get very good results. When I want to take it to the next level, I'll buy a meter and skip the strips.

I use municipal water, but they have little to NO information on the ion counts. All they could give me was the ph(which is 7.4) and the sodium count...92ppm. That's it. Welcome to small town Iowa.

I don't know this for sure, but the water department probably has a more complete report - try going I'm person and asking for a full report, one that includes secondary mineral analysis. My town's standard water report only includes things that are a safety concern, but they gave me a complete printout with the info I needed when I asked for it. You'll want to know Ca, Mg, Na (which you already have), Cl, SO4 and some form of water hardness (total alkalinity or alkalinity as CaCO3...or something like that...I always forget the details on this one).

+1 on high hop rates.
Besides what has been mentioned, if your water is low in calcium flocculation might be inhibited, adding a little calcium chloride or gypsum might be worth a shot if there is no other information available or other things don't work.

I don't know this for sure, but the water department probably has a more complete report - try going I'm person and asking for a full report, one that includes secondary mineral analysis. My town's standard water report only includes things that are a safety concern, but they gave me a complete printout with the info I needed when I asked for it. You'll want to know Ca, Mg, Na (which you already have), Cl, SO4 and some form of water hardness (total alkalinity or alkalinity as CaCO3...or something like that...I always forget the details on this one).

Not sure if ALL towns have this info, but yours might. Worth a shot.

I saw the report. It does have radon, lead and stuff of that nature....but as far as what Ward labs looks for, just sodium is all. And they only do it once every 3 years as required by law.